Salisbury, North Carolina-based Food Lion will help provide at least 1 million meals through its annual Food Lion Feeds Apple Bag campaign. The campaign runs through Oct. 3 and benefits Feeding America and local partner member food banks throughout Food Lion’s 10-state operating area.
Customers can purchase a branded gala apple bag or make a cash donation at checkout in-store or online through Food Lion To Go. Food Lion Feeds, the retailer’s hunger-relief initiative, will provide five meals for the sale of every bag to Feeding America and its member food banks. Additionally, 100 percent of all cash donations will support Feeding America and its member food banks.
The 10th annual campaign begins in September to align with Hunger Action Month, a time when the foundation expands its partnership with Feeding America to raise awareness of hunger in the U.S. Since the Food Lion Feeds Apple Bag campaign began in 2014, customers have helped to provide more than 9 million meals through the sale of the specially marked apples.
“Nourishing our neighbors and caring for our communities is a fundamental part of what we do at Food Lion,” said Kevin Durkee, manager.
“By joining forces with our customers, we help provide meals for individuals and families experiencing hunger. We are so grateful for the support we receive from our customers every year, and every donation – no matter how small – adds up and helps us make even more of a meaningful impact on the towns and cities we serve.”
In addition to this campaign, Food Lion Feeds will remodel and stock the shelves of nearly 30 food pantries across its 10-state operating area through its annual event, The Great Pantry Makeover. During this 30-day effort, Food Lion employees volunteer for activities such as painting and cleaning pantries to installing shelving, freezers, coolers and other equipment to expand the capacity for fresh fruits, vegetables and other products.
Additionally, Food Lion Feeds launched its fifth season of “Sack to Give Back” in August, teaming up with 35 colleges and universities to help those experiencing hunger. Through this collaborative approach to tackle food insecurity, Food Lion Feeds will provide 1,000 meals (up to 30,000 meals per school) for every quarterback sack made by the participating institution to each school’s local Feeding America partner food bank.
The bags sell for $3.49 throughout the campaign. The total amount donated to each local food bank will be based on the number of eligible bagged apples sold in each food bank’s service area, along with customer donations at the register.
Through Food Lion Feeds, the grocer has helped to provide more than 970 million meals to people since 2014 and has committed to donate 1.5 billion meals by 2025.
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